Attorneys: Beason murder suspect's rights violated

LINCOLN — Lawyers representing a central Illinois man charged in the killings of five members of a family claim evidence against him shouldn't be used because investigators violated his rights.

NICOLE HARBOUR

LINCOLN – Police violated the rights of murder suspect Christopher Harris, making his arrest for killing a Beason family and searches that produced potential evidence illegal, according to motions filed by Harris’ defense attorneys.

The motions, filed between mid-May and mid-June, ask that statements and other evidence collected before Harris was arrested in October 2009 – evidence that reportedly includes a photograph of a bloody palm print from the murder scene -- be suppressed.

The evidence was “obtained pursuant to unlawful searches and seizures by the Logan County Sheriff’s Department, the Lincoln Police Department and the Illinois State Police,” according to the motions.

Harris, 32, and his brother Jason Harris, 23, both of Armington, are charged with the Sept. 21, 2009 killings of Raymond "Rick" and Ruth Gee and three of their children - Justina Constant, 16; Dillen Constant, 14; and Austin Gee, 11. The brothers also are charged with the attempted murder of Tabitha Gee, who was 3 at the time of the attack.

The slayings occurred in the Gee family's home in Beason.

Trial dates have not been set for either brother yet. People involved with the case estimate the brothers won’t stand trial for another year or two.

Logan County assistant state’s attorney Jonathan Wright said Tuesday he couldn’t comment on the defense motions because there “haven’t been any court hearings since the motions were filed.”

In a motion filed May 19, defense attorneys John Rogers and James Elmore say Christopher Harris was interviewed three times about his whereabouts on September 20-21, 2009.

The interviews took place Sept. 23, 2009, at the home of Paula Gee, the mother of Harris’ ex-wife, Nicole Gee, Rick Gee’s daughter; on Sept. 30 at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, as he and Nicole visited with Tabitha; and on Oct. 1, at the Logan County Sheriff’s Department.

During the last interview, “law enforcement agents confronted (Harris) with a photograph of a bloody palm print from the crime scene that agents alleged matched his palm print,” the May 19 motion states. Harris was arrested shortly after he was shown the photo.

The defense documents also say chemical testing by crime scene investigators turned up blood on the steering wheel, both foot pedals and the driver’s seat of Harris’ truck.

The defense says it wasn’t until after Harris was arrested that a judge issued warrants allowing officers to search his vehicle, to collect biological standards from Harris and to search the Beason residence and to examine clothing and footwear obtained from Nicole Gee’s vehicle.

The motions indicate Harris gave permission for the searches and that he voluntarily turned over cell phone and financial records and submitted to biological testing. However, the motions say, Harris’ “alleged consent to such searches was not voluntarily given, taking into account the totality of the circumstances of his detention.”